South West Sea Kayaking Meet 2011 - Day 1

The informal South West Sea Kayaking Meet (SWSKM) that spawned from the original launch of Mark Rainsley’s South West Sea Kayaking Guide Book back in 2008 has become a very good annual excuse to come and meet like minded paddlers and explore some of the great coastline that the south west coastline has to offer.

It has been held, up 'till now, over in Dorset, at it’s southern most tip at Prawle Point. Evening entertainment in the form of talks by kayakers has been hosted in The Pigs Nose fueled allegedly by jars of ale. It's always been a great weekend.

This year it’s been centered at Corfe Castle on the Isle of Purbeck. A bit misleading to call it an island, as it is surrounded  by water only on three sides. You get the impression though, when you get down here, that it may as well be completely cut off as it is so wonderfully unspoilt. A real hidden gem.

Mark’s book has been hugely successful (now in it’s second edition) and no doubt has inspired many a trip to the sticky out bit of the southern west of the British Isles. Flicking through the latest version I realise that bit by bit over the last few years I seem to have covered quite a portion of it by now. The Purbeck coastline has some of the finest, dramatic, day paddling coastline with the opportunity to put in a few wild camps, making it a fine long weekend destination for the discerning paddler

Richard and I arrive on a Friday evening and set up camp early with the intention of finding a flat cow pat free area before going out for an early evening paddle. 

Looking out from the Purbeck Hills down on to Saint Alben's Head overfalls

  With the winds blowing fairly high the paddling option open to us is probably the same paddle on the agenda for tomorrow with the promise of less wind, so we unanimously decided to visit the Greyhound Public House situated by the historic walls of Corfe Castle, to test it’s suitability as a venue for our weekend’s patronage. Hard decision I know.

After a few swift pints of Doom Bar on tap, we decided it would only be fair to venture into another hostelry for comparison. The Fox – a nice cwtchy kind of place, similar to front-room shebeens found in Wales that sprung up after the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was passed, that banned the sale of alcohol in Welsh pubs on the Sabbath. These shebeens were literally someone’s front room where one could purchase a tankard of illicit ale.

My good friend Addlestones Cider was here, but I have to admit, it seems to taste much better closer to its origin on the north coast. My conclusion is, that like real Guinness, it doesn’t travel well.

We returned to the Greyhound to chase more Doom Bar.

Setting the scene

Saturday morning dawned and, under the shadow of the 1000 year old castle, we awake to a field of congregated kayakers.

Good Morning Campers - get up it's briefing time

After a short briefing we head on down to Studland Bay with the intention of paddling out towards Handfast Point to see Old Harry, and The Pinnacles.

On the beach at Studland looking accross to Handfast Point

Approaching Old Harry

Old Harry and his wife

 With the tide low, we paddle right out and around the point, and come face to face with the magnificent view of The Pinnacles. Made even more striking with the sun shining down on them.

Stunning bit of coastline! 

Sticking our noses around Ballard Point, the wind is a bit stiff, we turn tail and head back to Studland, stopping for lunch on one of the white chalk stoned beaches.

A few of the group call it a day and stop off for ice cream, tea and a lounge in the sunshine, while the rest of us head out towards a windy Poole harbor.

The chain ferry that is pulled across the harbor mouth using 2 sets of chains

Turning tail here, we go full steam back to Studland. 

The evening is topped off with a BBQ on the beach followed by a retreat to the Greyhound for "cold squash and ginger beer", not!

Richard took some cracking picks of the trip, you can see them on his blog. 

The days trip, short but very sweet

 

Six Cardinals of the Severn

Setting out from St Donats

Combination of a spring tide, the prospect of another gift day for sea paddling, and a wonderful understanding wife, were the ingredients to go play on the Severn Estuary.

The proposition was to just ride the Severn tide down for most of the day and back again, just to see what happened. Richard was interested. So we left St Donats with approx. 3 hours left of the ebb.

To add a little interest and to break up the monotony a bit we came up with the idea of following a line of cardinal buoys that seemed to have been placed in a perfect position just for the job, that also led us to a fairly large sand bank (nice place to stop for a bite to eat we thought).

Heading past East Nash along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast

East Nash Cardinal taking the strain at Nash Sound

Sticking our noses out towards Nash Point we are making a good 5 knots towards the Sound without dipping a paddle in. We clock up about 8 knots as we paddle past the East Nash Cardinal.

Next up is the Mid Nash South Cardinal.

Richard a few miles offshore at the Mid Nash South Cardinal 

Mid Nash South Cardinal

This trip now becomes a case of joining the dots, as we head on a bearing from buoy to buoy. Each one is approx. 4 nautical miles away from the other so to begin with we can't see them. We head on a bearing to where we think they are. It becomes a bit of a game to see who can spot the next match stick on the horizon first. At about 3 nautical miles away one of us normally spots them. Then we have something to aim at rather than paddle on a wish. At about 3/4 mile the head markings normally become clearly visible - this is with the sun behind us on a perfectly clear day.

Richard spots a single gannet up in the sky, and then below it a porpoise.

We sit and watch as it trawls for fish.

Magic to watch.

Porpoise trawling the Bristol Channel

Before very long we arrive at West Nash cardinal.

West Nash Cardinal

Next hop is over to the South Cardinal at South Scar.

South Scar Cardinal at Scarweather Sands

This is where we had planned to stop for our lunch. There is no sand bar to be seen. We have made good time and the tide has not turned yet. We see plenty of waves breaking over the sand bank and decide to take a closer look.

Seeing some interesting rough water we decide to head over to the waves breaking over the sand bank

The mast/tower thing is or was a monitoring site for an offshore wind farm which has now been shelved.
Some very tasty waves are seen and we have a little play in the rough water.

Surf spot some 5 nautical miles offshore - no boardies out here to drop in on

I can only imagine that this spot must be the gateway to some neptunous hell on a rough day!  Some 100m further on and all is back to an oily flat calm sea . . .

Given the good time we have made and we still have an ebbing flow, we decide to continue on towards the West Weather Cardinal.

West Scarweather

We stop here for a lunch break. Slack is approaching. While munching away I notice on the chart that there is one more cardinal, the Ledge South Cardinal, a few nautical miles away. A pity really to have come this far and not bag that one as well. So we decide to give it a go. We put our backs into it and manage to reach it despite the tide having turned.

The Ledge South Cardinal - time to go home

We both look at the chart and think it's a job well done. Only need to paddle all the way home now.

With all the sights taken in, we don't bother to stop on the way back. Just make a B-line for Nash Point.

Passing Nash Point lighthouse before the final slog around to St Donats

For what could be regarded by most as a pointless boring paddle, this has been quite an amazing days paddle.

37 nautical miles (69 km) covered in just over 7.5 hours - channel riding at its best!

69 km round trip

The Butthole Surfers and Southern Comfort - Twll Dîn ar Ynys Echni

With the official opening of a public house on Flat Holm last week by the mayor of Cardiff, it seemed my duty to go check out the most southerly waterhole in Wales. The weather was looking good to go and after a ring around the usual suspects, Richard and I launch from Sully to head out to Flat Holm.

Sully Slipway - slap some of that cream on it's going to be hot!

After launching we quickly decided that it would be a shame not to utilise more of what great weather we had on offer today after such a terrible run of bad weather. With the forecast for increase in wind before easing off latter, we opted for a slight diversion around Steep Holm first to get a thirst up for the anticipated quenching pint. We changed our bearing and paddled out across the channel

Passing Flat Holm

Brean Down I think in the distance

Steep Holm on the horizon

After what seemed a quick hour and a quarter we arrive at Steep Holm. 

Approach to Steep Holm

The gulls are in residence, but neither of us take any direct hits from the stuka dropped guano as they let us know their concern of their newly hatched chicks. 

Screaming, sihtting, gulls

Rudder Rock at Steep Holm

We circumnavigate the island with a little explore around the small arch at the Rudder Rock before crossing over to Flat Holm.

Flat Holm lighthouse and the pub housed in the barracks to the left

A 40 minute jaunt we arrive at the southern tip of Flat Holm after crossing through the lively standing waves thing that goes on there, even managed a tiny bit of surfing.

Flat Holm lighthouse and WWII search light emplacement

An enlargement of the above clearly reveals a buried Victorian cannon
at the foot of the lighthouse, stripped naked of its mounting block

We land on the small pebbled beach south of the main landing area and walk up the track making a b-line for the barracks and the pub within.

Taking in the sights as we go.

Looking back to the Welsh capitol, Cardiff

Alleged Welsh comforters

Flat Holm lighthouse

Steep Holm from Flat Holm

Flat Holm Sanatorium - uniquely the only Victorian Isolation Hospital located on a British offshore island.
The last patient to die here, did so of bubonic plague in the C19.
Closed 1935.

We finally arrive at our goal, The Gull and Leek

Nice poster stuck on the wall behind the bar
where Sam  dispenses  the necessary refreshments

Richard supping on his reward

It didn't stay long in the glass

The tide has now turned, it's time to make our way back to the mainland. As we wander back to the beach we bump into Stuart, Jules and Taran who have come out to play in the sun.

Getting busy out here!

With the beginning of the ebb we leave the island to arrive back at Sully some 30 minutes later. There was no increase in wind as forecast to day, the sea state became glassy smooth and we cruised in to the Sailing Club at Sully passing al the sail boats limping along with lifeless sheets.

As I carry my boat up the slipway and look back to Flat Holm savouring that earned pint, the Ballad of Naked Man by the Butthole Surfers began playing in my ears again.

Crossing back to Sully

13Nm of island hopping fun

26/6/11